Handel innovativ

Project Description 

Stationary retail in particular has been hit hard by the COVID 19 pandemic. In addition to high sales losses, there is also the fact that the buying behavior of the population is changing. The pandemic showed that companies that implemented new, mostly digitally supported solutions very quickly were able to mitigate the negative effects. However, the retail sector has so far been an innovation-poor industry and often lacks the competencies and means to implement its own innovations. This is where "Retail Innovative" comes in.

The aim of the project is to develop innovative solutions for stationary and digital retail in Baden-Württemberg while at the same time preserving the strengths of stationary retail. New knowledge is also processed and tested directly in practice. Through intensive transfer work, a broad number of companies can be reached. In addition to the University of Siegen, five partners based in Baden-Württemberg are involved in the project and are jointly pursuing these goals. The Chair for Service Development in SMEs and Crafts at the University of Siegen brings - as the only partner based outside of Baden-Württemberg - extensive experience and expertise in the areas of business model development and expansion, SMEs, crafts, smart services and services.

As immediate measures to directly help especially the small and medium-sized enterprises of the retail sector with new digital solutions, contact points and case studies are offered, among other things, as well as micro-projects with companies in the retail sector. Various events and consultant training courses are also held. As measures to secure retailers' business in the medium and long term and increase their resilience, new business models and regional ecosystems for retailers will be developed, among other things, and group coaching sessions and creative workshops will be held.

Furthermore, an innovation lab will be developed and set up in Heilbronn, where various technologies can be tried out by companies and interested parties. This sub-project "Innovation Lab for the Transformation Process in Stationary Retail" is closely linked to the previously described project "Retail Innovative" and aims to give interested parties the opportunity to test new solutions for retail. Another goal is to obtain feedback for future use and to inform companies. Various events and creative workshops will be held for this purpose.